Media Medium
8 May 2001

WAYNE GARVIE

Rising Star

Prince Edward has suffered his criticism; the BBC has felt his
crusading spirit and an inexhaustible energy - who will
Wayne Garvie's stars collide with next?

Wayne Garvie, head of entertainment, music and features at the
BBC, has made the headlines with his outspoken criticism of
Ardent Productions, headed by Prince Edward. Edward's dismal
record, despite his silver spoon, makes Garvie's point that it
takes " talent, drive and vision to succeed ". And he should
know. He's got all three of them himself, in abundance.

Garvie (September 9 1969) is a hard-working, meticulous Virgo,
a sign famous for its critical abilities, but he has both female
planets in the flamboyant sign of the Leo Lion. This suggests he
adores women and that female celebrities love him to bits, but it
also gives him a populist appeal and an entertainer's instinct.
Add to that a dose of persuasive, charmball Libra and this is a
man who can skillfully talk things up and get everyone buzzing
together. But we're not talking Butlins and happy-campers. This
combination demands class and quality and the huge personal pride
Garvie takes in his achievements may harbour a disdainful streak
for anything he reckons is second-rate.

The toughness in his horoscope comes from a square contact of
blitzkrieg Pluto to aggressive Mars in frank-and-fearless
Sagittarius. This gives a crusading spirit and an inexhaustible
energy, but also threatens an occasional outburst of fury. A
person with this aspect " hates to do anything half way and has a
propensity to cut to the core of any problem without flinching
from the potential repercussions...there is also limitless
courage and an unusual capacity for resourceful and decisive
action in any emergency". (Stephen Arroyo).

This is a landmine configuration which can go off at any time.
Greg Dyke needs to keep an eye on it because Garvie's Sagittarian
Mars keys in dramatically with the BBC. It falls exactly on the
BBC's Mercury (Incorporation January 1 1927), which is also
Jupiter's degree in its first television broadcast (November 2
1936). These placings symbolise the BBC's public service role and
although there may not be much evidence of this yet, in the long
run Captain Garvie could end up on the front line of the BBC's
fight for its freedom.

So has he been a loose cannon in the attack on Edward? There
is a personal clash of styles here: Garvie and Edward, born six
months apart, are on the other half of the zodiac circle from
each other, so Garvie's sharp, perceptive Virgo Sun doesn't rate
Edward's cushy-number Pisces and his vague, wishy-washy Mercury.
What's fascinating in the astrological connections between them
all - Garvie, Edward, the BBC - is that on this occasion, it
looks like a case of his master's voice and Garvie has probably
expressed a widely held semi-official view that cannot be said
publicly. The incident presages a future pattern, one in which he
seems certain to go far as a BBC mover and shaker. There is more
contention to come next spring when his Mars runs riot again, but
look out for his talents hitting the mark with popular
programming in both October 2002 and throughout 2003. Jupiter
brings him benefits then, both in and out of the BBC, through
hiccups and upsets which befall others. It could knock out the
competition in good time to help Wayne Garvie fulfil his destiny
as a rising star.